Breathe
by TessaStarDean
Summary: Jack gets a call to ID a body. JackChloe friendship.


"I hate paperwork," Jack muttered as he rifled through the papers Chloe had brought him.

She rolled her eyes. "Quit whining, Jack. I already filled it out for you. All you have to do is sign it."

"I still hate it," he mumbled.

The phone on his desk ran then, and he set the pen down with a sigh of relief.

"CTU, Bauer."

Chloe tuned him out as the conversation went on. He usually got calls from Bill or Division while they were talking, and she didn't want to eavesdrop. As she looked around the room, Chloe suddenly realized that Jack had gone completely silent. Turning to face him again, she saw that he had placed the phone back in the cradle, and his face had gone deathly pale.

"Jack?" she asked, her alarm growing.

"That was the hospital," he rasped. "Kim…she was in a car accident."

"Oh my God," she breathed. "Is she okay?"

"They…they want me to come…to identify the body."

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Chloe drove as fast as she could. Jack had wanted to drive, but she had seen the crazed look in his eye, and she honestly would have been surprised if they had made it to the hospital alive. So she firmly took the keys out of his hand and steered him toward the passenger's side.

As they headed toward the Emergency Room, Chloe could feel the indecision rolling off of him in waves. Part of him wanted to rush in there, to find his daughter. But the other part wanted to hang back, to put off seeing her lifeless body.

They walked towards the nurses station, waiting nervously for someone to be available.

"May I help you?" an older woman finally asked.

Jack licked his suddenly parched lips.

"Kimberly Bauer…"

"Mr. Bauer?"

They turned to see a tall man with glasses and a white coat standing behind them.

"I'm Dr. Monaghan," he said. "You're here to identify your daughter?"

Jack nodded, unable to speak. Dr. Monaghan turned and led them down the corridor, away from the people and their cries of pain and grief. The walk felt torturously long, and Chloe silently slipped her hand into Jack's trying to give him her strength. He didn't look at her, but he clutched her tightly, using her steadying presence to keep him moving forward.

Eventually they came to a small room with a blue curtain hanging on one wall. Dr. Monaghan led them over to it, and then pressed a small button in the wall. The curtain slid aside ever so slowly, and Chloe could feel her heart pounding in her ears.

The person on the other side of the mirror moved forward and pulled back the sheet that was draped over the body. Chloe heard a sharp gasp come from Jack, and he practically slumped against her. She felt her own tears slide down her cheeks as she turned to the doctor.

"That's not her," she breathed. "That's not Kim."

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Dr. Monaghan wouldn't stop apologizing as they rushed back down the hall. As soon as Chloe told him it wasn't Kim, something had dawned on him, his eyes widening in surprise. Another girl had been brought in from the accident, but there was no ID to be found on her, and she had been labeled as a Jane Doe until they could find out who she was.

Before he was even finished speaking, Jack was moving out of the room, his steps long as he surged forward. The doctor rushed to get ahead of him, so that he could lead him to the girl's room, cautioning him that he had to be calm, that this might not be his daughter. But Jack just continued on, the hope flaring in his chest the only thing that he could cling to.

He pushed the door open and stopped dead in his tracks, tears coursing down his cheeks. Chloe followed him, her chest constricting as she feared the worst. But as she moved to look around Jack, she felt a smile growing on her face – Kim lay in the hospital bed before them, sleeping.

"It's her," Jack whispered, moving to his daughter's side.

Dr. Monaghan began speaking again, telling them that she was going to be fine, that her purse must have been in the passenger's seat, and that that was why it had been found with the other girl. For now she just needed to rest, and Jack could stay with her for as long as he wanted.

Chloe barely even noticed the doctor leaving as she watched Jack take a seat by Kim's bed. He reached out and took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles, a relieved smile overtaking his face. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he began whispering to her, telling her that everything was going to be okay, that he was so happy that she was alive.

The minutes ticked by, and Chloe finally decided that she should leave. Jack wouldn't leave Kim for the rest of the night, and they deserved their privacy. Moving slowly, she turned toward the door and opened it as quietly as she could, slipping out into the hall.

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Jack heard the click of the door as it shut. Frowning, he saw that Chloe was no longer in the room. Glancing down at Kim, he stood up and moved across the room, opening the door to find her halfway down the hall.

"Chloe!"

She turned around, surprise evident on her face. Looking around nervously, she shifted from foot to foot, wondering what he wanted.

Jack smiled as he walked up to her, remembering how she had taken care of him for the hour he had thought his daughter was dead. She hadn't left his side once, hadn't offered him meaningless platitudes and sympathies. She had just been there, holding his hand, helping him to stand, helping him to survive each passing minute.

"You're leaving?" he asked.

"You should be with Kim," she shrugged. "You can call me if you need anything."

He reached out and placed a gentle hand on her arm, squeezing it.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

Chloe frowned. "For what?"

"For being there. For making sure I didn't do anything stupid. For giving me the strength to just breathe."

She blushed at his words, dropping her gaze to the ground.

"It was nothing," she mumbled.

"Don't do that," he said firmly, causing her to look up again. "Don't trivialize what you did when it meant everything to me." He stared at her for a long moment. "Stay," he finally told her.

"What?"

"Stay. I want you here. I _need_ you here."

"But…shouldn't this be a family thing?"

"Chloe," he said gently, pulling her into a tight hug. "You _are_ family."


End file.
